The letter essentially said that she owed me a favor. I didn't care that much about it.

I knew that in the future, she wouldn't have died in that battle. So me saving her wasn't that big of a deal. But having her owe me was better than nothing.

Though having her around would be annoying, one of the conditions for her ability that she kept most secret was that: she must never ignore injustice.

One could take that into different interpretations. But if Paris broke that promise, the ribbon around her heart would clutch her heart, and she would die.

Thankfully, she didn’t stick about here. Her ability worked on what she would consider against the law.

Though many had the misconception that it worked with the laws the higher-ups had made. Rules like how one couldn’t attack the royal family were ineffective with her ability because she considered that law unfair.

Within this world, people like Paris were very few and far between. Most Exorcists ignored the injustices of the government, just like how the government ignored it when an Exorcist would do some wild stuff. But Paris was different; even if someone were a royal family member, she would kill them if they did something unjust. Her ability was perfect for that.

After all, her victims’ deaths will all be under mysterious circumstances.

"Anyways, Delia. Can you give us some privacy," her father said. Though the wording might have sounded like a question, it wasn't.

She nodded and walked off without saying anything. The clan leader waited a bit before telling me. "I have also held my end of the bargain. You have officially completed nine missions. At least you will have it in two weeks when everything is registered."

"Thanks," I bowed my head slightly as a sign of respect to the man. He held his end of the bargain.

"Also, you will check your private account. Your part of the reward has been added there. You should spend some time with your parents until you're all healed." After saying that, he walked off, leaving me behind in a room with a broken bed.

"Can I at least get a mattress to lay on?" I asked, but no one responded.

Well, until my body got back in top shape. I wasn't going anywhere. So I better spend some quality time with my parents; hopefully, they have a spare mattress.

***

Carpy swam around the fish pond, with the master's father throwing him some demon meat. It was high-class demon meat.

"A fish," the master's father stared at him and frowned. "I don't know what that son of mine is thinking. But he seems to have matured enough, so I won't judge his choices for now."

Carpy felt shame bubble up in his fishy heart. He was ashamed of himself too!

Master got harmed again! There was nothing Carpy could do about it! Watching as the only person who cared about you got hurt. It was like seeing his parents get beat up while protecting him.

But despite how angry Carpy got, he didn't become stronger. Was it his fate to stay weak forever?

"Don't worry, little fish, my son is strong. He will wake up soon, and the world will be his foothold one day." The master's father smirked. There weren't any signs of doubt in his eyes. "Even the Dark Sword Clan is too small to fit someone like him."

Yes, master was great like that!

‘But what about me?’ Carpy thought, feeling weaker than ever. Even in the last fight, he had barely helped with anything. If only he were stronger!

"Honey! Look who has woken up!" Mother called out and brought along master Kon.

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Kon looked well, though he moved a bit too rigidly. Maybe he was still suffering from the after-effects of the injuries?

"I brought a chess board," Kon smiled and showed his father a box. Carpy had just learned what chess was a couple of days ago, when Kon and his father started playing.

It was a game where some pieces moved in squares. He couldn't see the board from the pond. Even though Kon and his father were playing close to the water, the board was on the grass.

"I will go and prepare some tea," the master's mother went away.

"So, son. Anything interesting happened at the academy?"

Kon shrugged. "Well, not really."

Master's father raised a questioning brow. "What do you mean by; not really? You got attacked by the Demonic Exorcist!"

"I wouldn't call that interesting," Kon sighed and stared at the board. It looked like his mind was elsewhere. But such an expression of sadness didn't last long on his face, and he smiled. "Well, there was this one time with a girl. My friends asked me to go and ask her out. She was super pretty, and they thought I wouldn’t stand a chance!...”

Kon explained the story to them in great detail, and by the end, his father was laughing while slapping Kon on the back.

Since they had a connection, Carpy always felt Kon’s Ord. So he could somewhat tell what mood they were in. Carpy felt through their link that Kon was happy.

Like there was an invisible weight on Kon’s shoulders, he had temporarily forgotten about.

…

Days passed, and once again, Carpy observed another game between father and son. Master won most of the time.

But as the master was concentrating on the game, his mother was by his side and showing him some pictures. “She looks cute, right? She’s from the Kuro Clan. Next year she will be in the academy. Maybe you can get to know each other?”

Master didn’t pay it any attention and moved his pawn to protect his queen. But his father took the gamble and used his queen as a sacrifice to take Kon’s queen. It was like a father and son were in their own world.

Master’s mother sighed and showed him another picture. “She’s from the Raion Clan. The silver hair is the same as that classmate of yours. She’s her cousin.”

“Mother, can you please let me concentrate on the game? I already said I do not need an arranged marriage,” Kon shook his head and tried to stop his mother. But she looked down in sadness, and the master sighed with guilt. He scratched his head and relented. “Sure. You can show me a couple more if you want.”

Her face lit up like a light bulb. Then she took out a stack of pictures as thick as a finger and started showing them to master Kon.

It took ten minutes before Kon decided to go to the bathroom. He lost the game and was annoyed at all the marriage proposals. There were also a lot of other complicated feelings at play. Though he never ended up showing any of those emotions.

With him away, neither the master's mother nor father said anything. The latter was drinking some tea when mother said. “Do you think he’s gay?”

Gay? What does that word even mean? Carpy didn’t understand.

“Pfffft!” Father spit out his tea on the chess board. “Ah! Damn it! Now the game is ruined! What are you even talking about, you crazy woman?”

“He didn’t even look at the pictures. Also, he doesn't want a marriage with a pretty girl his age. That’s abnormal for a young man! After researching a bit, I also found that he has only male teammates!” She shook the master's father by his shoulders. “Oh, my God! My son is into men! What am I going to do!”

“You’re just reading too much into it,” the father tried to use a napkin to wipe the chess board. He didn’t seem that worried.

By the time the master came back from the bathroom. She stared at him with tears and ran back into the house. “I’m never gonna have a grandson!”

“What’s wrong with her?” Kon tilted his head in confusion.

“Don’t worry about it, son. She’s just worried that you won’t get married,” the father waved it off. He didn’t seem worried at all.

Master Kon shrugged and sat down. “It’s just that the young photos she shows don't interest me. The oldest girls she shows me are fourteen, and most are thirteen. I like older women.”

“Ones with big chests?” His father smirked teasingly.

“Not exactly. Though I wouldn’t mind if she had a big chest.” Kon shook his head, and they started playing another game.

Chest? Carp was confused. Why would someone care about a bulge in a woman’s chest? He tried imagining a fish with bulging breasts. It was a disgusting sight to think about.

Humans were weird and gross!

…

At midday, master Kon packed his bags and said goodbye to his family.

During his stay here, they had also made a backpack with one-sided dark glass. It would look like a black square box to others from the outside. But from the inside of the glass, he saw everything outside.

When Master Kon was outside the clan’s territory, he suddenly stopped and sniffed at the air. “I know you’re there. You can come out now.”